Booksigning at the Stately Raven

I spent last night at the Stately Raven book store in Findlay Ohio. The store is an independent bookstore which opened up in a converted church building and recently won an award for the “Best Bookstore in Ohio”. The store has a really cool science fiction room which, unlike most other local places, is actually stocked with the sci fi writers I read!

Last nite I met up with Tobias Buckell, aka Toby, and Gregory Frost, as well as a few other science fiction aficionados from the surrounding area. After picking up a copy of Frost’s Shadowbridge and John Scalzi’s The Last Colony we made our way to a local restaurant for some food and drinks. I had a good time and look forward to digging in to Shadowbridge this week.

It was really exciting to meet another author, as I already know Toby. I hope that the Stately Raven pulls in some other local authors. I also need to get myself up to Penguicon next May to bask in the presence of Sci Fi authors and geeks!

What’s missing from ebook readers!

I love to read, recently I have split my reading between ebooks and paper books mainly since both have advantages. I have been using my windows mobile phone to read ebooks for some time now and while the experience is good a larger screen and some dedicated buttons would be a huge improvement. I have been eyeing the Kindle from Amazon and several other smaller readers but the all lack what makes my phone the best ebook reader out there … a backlight. How hard would it be to add some LED lighting around the side of the Kindle or a competitor if back lighting doesn’t work. I know this will eat into my battery life but I honestly don’t care. The ability to read in any lighting will outweigh the lost time and if I can charge over a mini USB cable the problem is further reduced.

Give me an affordable ebook reader with a backlight and loads of content and I’ll be all over it.

Yet Another Book to Read: Sideways in Crime

I just listened to the audio promo for Sideways in Crime, a collection of short stories about alternate history and crime fiction. All I know I gleaned from the audio promo and the book’s Amazon page, but it sounds good so far. I am a huge fan of short fiction as it gives me a great way to find new authors and to intersperse a story into my busy schedule. I am also a big fan of alternate history and crime fiction, especially when done well.

If I were to rank my favorite sub-genres of science fiction it would go as follows:

1. Post apocalyptic
2. Zombies
3. Space Opera
4. Alternate history
5. undefinable yet awesome

Wastelands: A Post-Apocalyptic Anthology Done Right

My wife recently got me Wastelands, an Anthology edited by John Joseph Adams for an Easter gift.  I am only a few stories into the book but I wanted to share some initial thoughts and what it has done right so far.  One of the strongest parts of the anthology thus far is the decision by Adams to focus on stories which portray life after the apocalypse, forgoing zombies and other provocateurs and focusing on the struggles and stories of individuals in a dramatically different world.  This method of selection has led to some wonderful stories which allow me to connect with the individual characters and at some level understand them.  So far the stories have evoked a strong response from me due in part to the attempts of characters to “do good” in some manner and either failing or coming to a realistic and forlorn conclusion.  Don’t get me wrong a I love me a good ole’ zombie “mmm brains” novel but these stories are in a manner easier to connect to.

One of the items which Adams includes in the anthology is a reference section in the back, a bibliography of sorts which compiles other books from this sub genre of science fiction.  As a reader I cannot begin to express how awesome this is to me.  Many times after finishing an anthology or collection I have been left at a loss as to where to find more material to read that is within the same vein as the original writing, something not always accomplished by reading the authors’ other  published work.  This reference has provided me a list of authors and books to add to my “To Read” notebook in One Note.

I’ll do my best to post a follow up review when I finish the collection.

Wastelands includes stories by authors such as Stephen King, Paolo Bacigalupi, Cory Doctorow and Tobias Buckell.

Tobias Buckell, 3 Points on Free Ebooks

Tobias Buckell, sci-fi author and blogger has a great post up about free ebooks. Lately many of the main publishers have been scrambling to launch some version of a free ebook program. In my opinion some have done it better than others. From the examples Tobias listed, Tor has done a great job in that the free ebook is available as a pdf, html or mobi file to ensure portability and compatibility. The Harper Collins program however relies only using your web browser and constant connectivity. I am all for free ebooks even in a less useful online only format, simply because it is a low risk way for me to find out more about an author.

Tobias writes:

These are not ‘information wants to be free’ people, but entrepreneurs interested in gaining a wider reach for their fiction. They’re disparate in politics, technology outlooks, and so on. They’re not part of some e-conspiracy, but a range of working writers in today’s field.

Whole publishing companies are starting to experiment. Baen is well known for giving away the first novel or couple novels of a series (bet you can’t read just one), you can check out their free library. All indications from Eric Flint’s comments are that these drive sales up throughout the backlist.

Tobias also includes a great roundup of currently free ebooks and announces that Crystal Rain will be one of Tor’s upcoming free ebooks in the coming weeks.

Tobias Buckell’s Ragamuffin On Nebula Final Ballot

Ragamuffin, Tobias Buckell’s killer follow up to Crystal Rain is on the final ballot for the Nebula award! I really enjoyed Ragamuffin and found it built really well on the universe laid out in Crystal Rain. The fact that Pepper was back and kicking ass was another huge bonus. As John Scalzi and Tobias both point out it is a banner year for Caribbean science fiction.

Novels
Odyssey – McDevitt, Jack (Ace, Nov06)

The Accidental Time Machine – Haldeman, Joe (Ace, Aug07)

The Yiddish Policemen’s Union – Chabon, Michael (HarperCollins, May07)

The New Moon’s Arms – Hopkinson, Nalo (Warner Books, Feb07)

Ragamuffin – Buckell, Tobias (Tor, Jun07)

I can’t wait to get my hands on Sly Mongoose which comes out in August 08.

You can read the first third of Ragamuffin for free at Tobiasbuckell.com/ragamuffin.

Watch Sly Mongoose Trailer, Get 1st Chapter Released

Tobais Buckell just shared that Amazon.com has added the slick new cover art for Sly Mongoose which is his third Novel.  He has posted the trailer for Sly Mongoose on Youtube which is embedded below and once it reaches 1,000 views he will post the first chapter of Sly Mongoose online!  So please watch it and share it with your mom, best friend, room mate etc.  It looks to be another amazing book.

Did you know they have book trailers?  I think they are a nifty marketing tool and open up book advertising to many new outlets.  With a well made trailer you can advertise books more readily on television as commercials or as clips on late night talk shows.  It is also an easy way to spread the word to video obsessed individuals and allow for easy word of mouth  sharing on social networking sites.

Book Trailer Contest at TobiasBuckell.com

Tobias Buckell, author of Crystal Rain and Ragamuffin is currently holding a contest to find music for the trailer promoting his new novel Sly Mongoose. He shares his recommendation for listening as,

My dream layover track would be the first 1.39 of Trent Razner of Nine Inch Nails “Just Like You Imagined” (if you have it then just play that along with this video), or even the instrumental version of “Hyperpower” that he has (and you can download for free) at remix.nin.com.

The winner of the sound contest gets a $50 Amazon gift card and an early copy of Sly Mongoose!

I embedded the video below

My entries are from Derek K. Miller’s Penmachine album which features podsafe music.  All of these tracks work well when played from the beginning.  I am extremely partial to Fresh Snow in the Valley, Deep Cycle Discharge, Cold Cloth and an Icepack, and The Burning Moon. They are available for download from the Penmachine demos page.

More information on the contest.  Get crack’n it looks like the contest is already drawing several entries.

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